Shropshire Woman

Keen to develop her cutting edge photographic business, Shropshire based Meg Hawkins, with the support of the Boyne Estate, has breathed new life into a long since redundant farm building, transforming it into a modern photographic infinity studio which would not look out of place in central London

Meg Hawkins is known for pushing boundaries.

A young photographer who retains the passion that first inspired her to pick up a camera seven years ago, she has an eye for the dramatic. She is undeniably an artistic adventurer whose thirst for the next shoot is unquenchable.

The Hawkins family - Ade, Coral, Asha, Peter, Meg and Liam on the other side of the lens

Renowned for pouring creativity into every project she undertakes, the 32 year-old mother of four possesses the drive to expand and challenge her own artistic boundaries. Supported by a team of talented young make-up artists, experienced body painters and stylists, she now has all the building blocks in place to help make her new venture and foray into the world of fashion photography a resounding success.

With an expansive studio now launched and access to a wealth of inspirational natural locations right on her doorstep, Meg is able to draw from her own stable of subjects for her shoots.

Meg first discovered Shropshire after her parents settled in Ditton Priors when she was just 18 months old.

She attended Bridgnorth Endowed School, moving on to Ludlow College where she explored her creative talents in art, design and sculpture studies.
She then went on become a finishing artist for the company Jesmonite, working on replica British museum artefacts after which she moved on to a new post as a graphic designer in Newtown, Wales.

Meg’s first child Coral, now 12 years old, made an appearance at this time, followed 18 months later by son Liam.

For some years she and husband Ade headed up a fibrous plastering company until they moved to Welwyn in Hertfordshire where Meg completed a two year course in Interior Design at Hitchin School of Arts.

I though it was about time I gave fashion photography a bash. It was the best decision I ever made. There's so much scope and it's creative; right up my alley

Her third child Asha, who is now seven years old then came into the world. The busy young mum managed to juggle her hectic home life with making a living selling her artwork, which mainly celebrated the female form in a variety of media. It was at this time that she was lucky enough to be invited to have her work published.

The magical world of photography, with all its possibilities, changed the course of her life, when she was tasked with illustrating her work for reproduction in the book.

“My friends then started asking me to take photos of their children and the photography kicked off from there,” she recalled.

By the time her fourth child Peter was born five years ago her photographic work was really taking flight with commissions for family portraits flooding in.

“My photography took off really well in Hertfordshire. I used to go to people’s houses and do natural shots of their family rather than stuffy ones,” she said.

Her success in this area inspired her to set up the company funkyfotos4u

Model girl Serena McCutcheon in dramatic pose

“The style of photos I did were more a piece of art rather than a straight shot,” she added.

Meg and her husband finally moved back to Shropshire four years ago where she created a small studio at their home in Aston Botterell.

“I then started doing wedding photography again, more along the lines of natural fly-on-the-wall shots to capture the day as it unfolded, rather than structuring people. This seems to work really well and I get booked because of this approach,” she said.

Following a trip to Australia in January the 32-year old returned energised with a new lease of life and purpose. Coinciding with her youngest child starting school she decided the time had come to spread her wings.

“I thought it was about time I gave fashion photography a bash,” she said.

“It was the best decision I ever made. There’s so much scope and it’s creative; right up my alley.”

And despite the recession Meg decided to go ahead with creating a custom-made infinity studio.

She explained: “The object of an infinity wall is to reduce reflected light to a minimum giving the impression that nothing exists other than the object to be photographed and the lights used to illuminate it.”